Date: Tue, 20 May 1997
Denis Kostyukovich

I watched "Gallipoli" on Tuesday last week in Payson library.

        One of the most interesting things about the movie is how the creators were able to connect so many things that unite the characters with the historical setting of the movie. The main heroes of the film go through a lot of situations in which their patriotism, courage, friendship, and sense of fun survive through harsh realities of travelling, training camp, and, finally, the battle. There are many historical movies in which the preoccupation with expression of the characters' personalities often leads to sacrifice of a historical precision. "Gallipoli", in my view, is very well balanced in that sense.

Although there are some moments in the movie that are not historically precise, they are rather minor to harm the film's credibility. For example, after watching the film, I had an impression that the English used Australian troops as a shield for their own in difficult situations. However, this is not quite correct as far as I know.

        The thing that I liked the most in this movie is that there were no moments where I had to explain to myself how certain things were possible. The story develops naturally. I think that it is an indication of a proper and professional use of the "artistic license." The authors are able to express the spirit of the time and the main characters without "abusing" history or "tailoring" the real events to "fit" the characters in them. Unfortunately, this is a frequent feature of modern American movies.

        One more thing that I liked about "Gallipoli" is the absense of the happy end. The final minutes of the movie really show the horror of war and inability of people to affect the situation, no matter how stong they believe they are. Death of Archie is an artistic element that brings all the film's events together, creating meaning. Happy end is so abused by modern movie industry that it no longer has an important meaning. The audience simply does not get the whole point because a very necessary historical element of sacrifice is left out, and it is natural to people to forget or pay less attention to things that were obtained without such a high cost as human life. The creators of "Gallipoli" do not allow themselves to be carried away by the artistic fantasy.

        So, the most remarkable thing about the film in terms of historical accuracy (as scientists would judge it) and artistic expression (from the artists' point of view) is that the meaning is created in historical and artistic sense. The key moments are the ones in which it becomes evident that the characters of the movie do not even know what exactly they are fighting for. This is an odd feature of war that was perfectly demonstrated in the film.